California braces for more storms after Saturday’s floods

Northern Californians are bracing for another round of severe storms this week after New Year’s Eve flooding killed one person, forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 county jail inmates and washed away part of a levee system that protects mostly rural areas. farmland.

In southern Sacramento County, crews rushed to repair a 200-foot (60.96 m) section of an approximately 34-mile (54.72 km) levee system along the Cosumnes River, which protects just over 53 square miles (137.27 square kilometers), mostly vineyards and livestock farms. . Crews hope to complete repairs before the next storm is forecast to hit on Wednesday. If they can’t, they seal the progress made with plastic and sandbags and hope for the best.

Melissa Adan of NBC 7 reflects on how much rain is too much for San Diego.

The weather phenomenon, known as the “atmospheric river,” has dumped up to 5 inches (12.70 centimeters) of rain in the Sacramento area and up to a foot (30.48 centimeters) of snow in the mountains, said Eric Kurt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Another powerful system is expected Wednesday and Thursday that could bring up to 3.5 inches (8.89 centimeters) of rain in the Sacramento Valley and up to 3 feet (0.91 meters) of snow in the mountains, as well as wind gusts up to 50 miles in hour. (80.4 km/h).

Another storm is then forecast this weekend, with forecasters expecting up to 2 inches (5.08 centimeters) of rain in the valley and up to 2 feet (0.61 meters) of snow in the mountains.

The National Weather Service forecast for the San Francisco Bay Area warned Wednesday’s storm could cause massive flooding and power outages, calling it “a really brutal system that we look at and should be taken seriously.”

Recurring storms increase the chance of flooding. “This is something we’ll be keeping a close eye on, especially with the increased flow levels (and) saturated ground from our previous storm,” Kurt said. “With what we’re going to get … adding to the previous storm is a really big problem.”

Maneuvering your car in inclement weather can be tricky and can be nerve-wracking when you start hydroplaning. Ashley Matthews of NBC 7 explains what to keep in mind when this happens.

The Wilton Rancheria said flood waters threatened to destroy ancestral burial sites along the Cosumnes River and asked the public to report any sightings of washed up artifacts or remains, but not touch them. Unlike most major California rivers, the Cosumnes River is not dammed, meaning there is no pool to collect excess water during heavy rains.

“We’re just at the mercy of nature,” said Mark Hight, board member of the 800 Reclamation District, which oversees the dam system.

Residents were still drying out Monday from Saturday’s storm, prompting officials to order an evacuation of the Point Pleasant community near the Cosumnes River in South Sacramento County. Including 1,075 prisoners plus Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center staff who were evacuated as a precaution, although the prison was not flooded. According to Amar Gandhi, a spokesman for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, the prisoners were taken to nearby prisons without a timetable for their return.

Rescuers rescued motorists on New Year’s Eve until Sunday morning. On Sunday, they found one person dead in a flooded car off Highway 99, Kosumnes District Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Dan Quiggle told The Sacramento Bee. Highway 99 was closed for most of the day on Sunday, but has since reopened in both directions.

A drought emergency has been declared in Southern California due to the depletion of the region’s water supplies. Audra Stafford of NBC 7 has details on how San Diego County is handling this predicament.

Rainfall in downtown San Francisco reached 13.87 cm on New Year’s Eve, making it the second wettest day on record since the November 1994 flood, according to the National Weather Service.

In Southern California, several people were rescued after flood waters flooded cars in San Bernardino and Orange counties. No serious injuries were reported. The rain had stopped just in time for the annual Rose Parade, but it started raining during the Rose Bowl college football game between Utah and Pennsylvania State.

To the north, in the state capital, crews were clearing fallen trees from roads and sidewalks, and at least 5,347 customers still had no power Monday afternoon in Sacramento County, up from more than 150,000 two days earlier. according to Sacramento Municipal Utility District online map.

Rain has been welcomed in dry California as the past three years have been the state’s driest on record. Most of the state’s major reservoirs continued to be well below their historical average. The only exception was Folsom Lake near Sacramento, which was at 153% of its historical average on Sunday.

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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